This review may contain spoilers
what's with y'all separating two happy people????
got me smiling and blushing all the way through damnnnn it really could've been a perfect high school romcom??? just please quit separating two happy people only to avoid a cliche ending I BEG YALL it’s called a romcom for a reason and jumping on the 2521 twist isn’t a necessity. everything is visually stunning thoughhhh decent acting good chemistry pretty people i can’t get mad. + kim yoojung is the it girl in the making i'll definitely tune in for her next hit drama and also hi miss han hyojoo we miss you we truly do!!!!!! <3Was this review helpful to you?
Mediocre?
I waited until the last few episodes to write this review and I think there are mainly 2 types of viewers:1)the ones who have seen "Go Ahead"
2) and the ones who haven't
I am part of the audience that has watched go ahead and that is why I believe I found this drama to be mediocre...So keep in mind that my review will highly be biased based on the original
Plot:
1) As Go Ahead is a Chinese drama it has around 40 episodes and as a result there was a lot of character development and side plots that were important to the story, this drama obviously had to get rid of some of them but for the same reason it felt lacking overall
2) There was also too much focus on the romance aspect and I think it would have been much better if they just took inspiration from the original and focused on the slice of life part...I also felt like the dads didn't give off the same vibe...in the og drama the dads have a whole persona of their own but this show just seems to dumb it down
Acting:
The leads have absolutely no chemistry..Hwang In youp as an actor is fine but in this drama he just looked awkward the whole time
the crying scenes weren't sad, the romance scenes weren't magical and the only saving aspect was maybe the comedy
Other thoughts (may contain some spoilers):
Why were all three of their careers changed? It was such a minor detail that had huge implications in the og because in that drama kim sanha was supposed to be a dentist, her a craftswoman and business owner and haejun was supposed to be a pastry chef, their career choices (especially the brothers) were supposed to show how dependent they were on juwon and it played a pretty significant role
The friend group wasnt the same!!
Haejun's character confessing his love in og shows that he was desperate to be included in their family dynamic and that his abandonment issues forced him to create feelings in order to belong...
The side character were only plot devices for the leads and they lacked depth!
Conclusion:
Anyways to conclude, If you havent watched go ahead you may like this show but if you have its just going to seem like a cheap remake I would recommend that everyone watches the original if they have time, but If you don't this is a decent watch (if you watch with a blank slate with no bias you may like it more than I did)
I doubt there is anyone who can argue that this was better than (or even on the same level as) the original.
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Similar to TMOPB, there are three arcs: Ling Xi as a mischievous maiden (episodes 1-23), Ling Xi as Lin Mo in the mortal realm (episodes 24-49), and Ling Xi as a high priestess (episodes 50-60). The ratio for the three arcs is skewed with the first and second having a lot more screen-time, but was it necessary? No. The first arc was the best arc of this drama. During the first arc, Ling Xi has a crush on Jiu Chen, but that changes quickly. Falling in love with her and refusing to kill her, he tries to change her fate by making her face trials in the mortal realm. The second arc was interesting, but only for the first few episodes. After that it was excruciatingly long and boring. Ling Xi was supposed to overcome her calamities by herself, but everyone keeps meddling with it. Honestly, this arc could’ve been cut from 25 episodes to 10 to give the last arc more cushioning since it's the worst. Viewers normally expect answers as they're finishing off the story, but did they give it to us? No. They just tossed a few sparkly rose-hued scenes at us and hope we latch onto them and ignore the faults. The writer and director gave us a weak happy ending in lieu of answering remaining questions. With that said, I had to push myself to finish the last ten episodes even though the end is normally the most exciting.
I’m all for a mature and older actor but strangely enough, Chang Chen missed the mark for me. His portrayal of Jiu Chen was stiff and emotionless. He was quite boring and awkward to watch. He always had this weird slump when he’s sitting, and it made me think of an old man rather than a God of War. He was still quite stoic when he fell in love with Ling Xi, but every once in a while, he would smile. Which can be cute, but his smile was strange and brief. He would look at the ground, smile for a second, and then his face stiffens again. I don’t have much to say about Ni Ni because her acting felt natural for her role.
The romance between the two leads does feel a bit mature and both do show their love throughout the drama, but there’s just something about this couple that doesn’t impact me. The moments other viewers fawned over, I found forced and cringey. For example, some kiss scenes they just push the kiss onto each other for a second or two. Right after they would say something “romantic” to each other. Was that a moment? Cause it was just awkward to watch. Their romance also dragged during the second arc. It dragged on for so long I thought I was the one imprisoned for fifty thousand years. Not only that, but it solidified the fact that Jiu Chen is a boring male lead. Ling Xi spent most of this arc with Jiu Xia and he actually gave us emotions. Not that I rooted for him to be with Ling Xi, but I just found his reactions to be refreshing compared to Jiu Chen’s stone-face. But why give us 10+ episodes of her being with Jiu Xia when we could’ve gotten more moments of her with Jiu Chen instead? Develop her relationship with Jiu Chen better instead of trying to build conflict, but I guess the writer thought the more elements going into it the better it’d be, because even the supporting couples (Yun Feng x Qing Yao and Si Ming x Shi San) were mediocre.
Okay, I swear I’m not a fan of Jiu Xia, but poor Jiu Xia. I didn’t like his character and there was nothing unique about him (except his bald head), but he deserved better. He went through hardships and suffered throughout his life, but he showed that he was still capable of love and empathy. If only the writer was able to write his character with more depth. He deserved a better written role. Also, what’s scary isn’t demons or monsters. What’s scary is someone who’s on a journey to get what they think they deserve and not hesitating to sacrifice anyone and everyone to get it. Thus, the true demon of this show is not the demon lord…it’s Yuan Tong. Karma happened way too late and I found her unnecessary to the plot past the first arc. She’s legit in there just to keep stirring her evil little pot full of lies to aggravate everyone.
Would I recommend this? Unless you’re okay with painstakingly slow developments, an evil immortal who just doesn’t know when to quit, an antagonist who could’ve been so much more, and unnecessary conflicts and characters to fluff the plot? Then no. Besides the first arc and maybe a few episodes into the second arc, this was a complete waste of my time. There’s was so much potential, 60 episodes worth, but the plot fell stagnant and stale.
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Not what you expect
If you came here just for the GL I would not recommend. It is more of mystery with thrill with some GL hints. Anyways, it started off very well and hooked me right away. It was really good until like ep 10-12ish. That's when the story did not make sense and nothing was realistic anymore. The characters' actions stopped making sense too. It had the potential but it really fell off. If you are ok w/ a mystery drama w/ some stuff that doesn't make sense but is still interesting, I would recommend. Just don't expect too much.Was this review helpful to you?
THE BIGGEST FLOP IN KRAMA HISTORY ❗️
DON'T BOTHER WASTING YOUR TIME ON THIS BUFFOONERY!!!!I know some of you will be like it can't possibly be that bad well TRUST ME IT IS... and if you don't want to trust me read a couple of the reviews or comments and see for yourself! The people who are rating this higher than a 1-3 out of 10 have seriously GOD AWFUL TASTE and if you are a child, I hope you grow up, bc immediately no. Nobody can honestly tell me they sat and enjoyed this 😭💀 If you did I will pray to the kdrama gods that you GET BETTER ACUITY! I really am rooting for you in the foreseeable future fr.
To the people who are considering watching, you are better off STAYING FAR AWAY from this nonsensical parody. Everyone in this drama is so goddamn overbearing that it makes my blood boil and will definitely make you want to stop watching by episode 3 or 4.
The fact that this show is called Strong Girl Nam Soon when her mom and grandma take over majority of the screen time with their own drama and love lives is soooo sad, it's not even funny. Main leads have zero chemistry and their kisses are childish and cringe. Seems like neither one of them is into it and is forced to be there.
The saving grace of the show is the villain, Ryu Shi Oh. I know many of you are like us and are interested in watching because you saw a cool edit or BWS is your bias. Either way... just continue watching the tiktok edits... don't bother supporting this sad excuse for a superhero / family drama just because your faves are in it. Idk if some people have a thing for dramas that are sooooo bad that they think they're good but I can guarantee this isn't one of those dramas.
AVOID THIS DRAMA AT ALL COSTS!!!!
REAL RATING A SAMSHING: 0/10
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Intriguing yet ineffective at its core
Being stylish and beautifully shot is one thing, but is the story well told with adequate suspense to be attached to, this drama simply fails to impress after some time. Most of the plot just stays there looking stagnant, with non stop teasing over and over again for the course of 8 hours of runtime in a very slow burn fashion, and as if the plot devices could make enough connections in the sense that was supposed to be potent on social commentaries, sadly the key to unlock the trunk is not present.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
My heart is so warm but broken after this .
It was the perfect romcom movie , the entire plot , the story was so adorable , and their scenes together that just made me scream because of how cute they’re ????? . but then everything suddenly was so sad ???????All I can say is that I knew from the beginning that there’s a sad ending but still watched it and enjoyed it even if I cried my eyes out at the end , and I’m not regretting . It’s was a perfect love story and I LOVE IT before the ending that surprise me until the very end . I was speechless and my heart was broken into pieces .
I feel like if you’re hesitant to watch it or not because of the ending , I still think you should give it a try .
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I loved the story line. I have watch the original one from Korea and it was also good. But, I totally enjoyed how they went more into details about the characters. You got to know them more, which to me is important.
Like in the Korean version I had second lead syndrome. Zhang Vin (Lin Yi Mu) did an awesome job. I felt more for his character than I did Choi Si Won played the part. He was awesome.
Second lead actress Li Sierra (Xia Qiao), loved her. She made me love her and dislike her all at the same time.
This was the first time for me to see Sheng Peter (Bai Hao Yu) in a role. I was at first not sure but after the first 2 episodes I loved how he played the part. It was different which is what I found awesome. I am currently looking up other shows to watch of his.
Now to our leading lady. Two words loved her. Dilmurat Dilraba (Li Hui Zhen), did a beautiful job playing this role. Again a different approach to the character.
The supporting cast. They was awesome.
Even though this was a remake of She Was Pretty, it stands out on its own.
I loved how they did the ending.
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This review may contain spoilers
The whole thing was just * and can either be realistic because of how the desease flew considering the plot itself, but the implementation of each parts/scenes which just made the drama too complex to believe and understand that there's a lot of questions need to be addressed about what and how are things even settled in just 2 weeks. What makes the drama more unrealistic is... I'd better count them instead. Firstly, I've observed that the situation outside is too normal knowing that those people seems to having no problem at all and no fear you could expect them to be in the mid of a very serious desease. Secondly, how did they even handled the situation when the drugs has to spread, and I would've believed if the virus occurred in various places since the virus started with a capsule of drug supplement and no idea of where, which, or who are the people took the drugs . Thirdly, the drama seems to only focused in one setting and lacks details. Which is why maybe some of the viewers came with such negative opinions.Overall, I didn't enjoyed watching the whole thing. The concept was interesting, the cast are also impressive, but the story and the flow of the whole scene was something that did not meet our expectations.
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It's rom-com till it's not,
There are a total of 5 basic tastes.. "sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory." Other than these our taste buds can't detect anything, each taste has its importance, own value. Now just think: You are eating the same kind of food every day with the same taste, that is sweet. On the first day you'll end up loving it, the second time you will think it's good... but after some time it won't be as good as it was before, you'll be annoyed maybe also end up hating how it tastes, coz you need all tastes to satisfy your taste buds only one is not enough, bitterness might be the worst flavor before but it also is in need with sweetness, to balance out everything perfectly.No, I'm not writing a cookbook. I just couldn't find the best metaphor to describe the drama, but it seems I do now. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is the combination of all these flavors. It's sweet for romance, bitter for its darkness... it's salty, sour, savory with the combination of quirky humor, heartwarming/breaking backstories. Yet not only the story offers all flavors so do the characters.
Disclaimer: This is going to be super long review.
I didn't know before I would be enlightened just by shoe scene or either found doing laundry together can be a most romantic date. Drenching in rain can brighten up my mood enough for me to smile like an idiot. We don't need majestic or grand proposals and gestures... just little moments are enough to make your heart flutter and put a smile on your face.
A slice of life, healing, it's a mystery too, then it has also a bit of melodrama, it is a tragedy. It's a lot in disguise of rom-com. Being character-driven, cliches-predictableness-troupes: do these things matter? the story is enough to get hooked till the last episode with its flow, execution, and of course those cliffhangers. Rather than having a straight solid story, it's the combination of characters-their life-their backstories while we're experiencing leads journey together... and this is like solving a puzzle, not every piece is the same but when they come together it fits perfectly. Backstories of side roles don't affect the narrative of the main plotline, it ends up enhancing it in a better way: Coz these are refreshing, even heartbreaking.. and tragic too while this sure explains having all flavors in characters.
Thinking of cons. The first thing that comes to my mind is coincidences, a lot of freaking coincidences, not just it implies how 'fated and destined' leads are together but it sure makes it to unrealities of their past encounters. And how come just everyone ends up in Gongjin... it's a bit too much in the scenario of realistic development of the story. The labour was handled terribly, the stalker part was hella unnecessary. Sometimes it lacks in flow and balancing out things, having great first half. It starts to lose its charm and the flow a bit by bit, offering 2 cringy, a bit cheesy, you'll-get-diabetic-like-sweetness episodes that don't really add anything to the story almost feeling like filers, and later it becomes dark a heavy emotional ride.. and this transaction from too much sweetness to the darker side is not very ideal, it could have been better.
The pacing of it doesn't make it bingeable, it's good for the slow watch.. bits by bits, you can't take huge chunks together then no fun as it's not amusing either surprising. But having a lot of heart-fluttering moments, a good laugh, even some pearls of wisdom without going overboard.
Let's talk about characters, the most important part.
Du Shik... overcoming the past, accepting himself, and start living with a real smile. This is his story more than anyone else. He's charming, caring, hardworking, talented almost without any flaws, maybe 'perfection' it's the flaw of his characterization (okay this is me, who prefer flawed characters more). He's just so picture-perfect to the point he doesn't feel real. He seems so approachable yet distant as a character. Someone who can be only a fictional character. He's the dream guy anyone would want in their life. Though I'm no fan of the ideal characters I do find Hongbanjag as an interesting character, it was fun to discover every side of him... actually even after making him unflawed still his character never felt 1-D. I have a lot to talk about his trauma but without spoiling it here.. I'll post it as a spoiler comment below.
I don't think anyone can have chemistry with Halmonies as Kim Seon Ho can, not only Halmonies but almost with every character he encounters... you can even debate on if he had more spark with Lee Sang Yi than Shin Min Ah lol, as Dong Shik is perfect as a character KSH is perfect at portraying him. With his charming smile that's highly contagious, I've to admit I spent a lot of time just smiling like an idiot while watching him and this isn't only abt looks or dimples lol. The same goes for emotional scenes, you can feel pain just by seeing his face.. even his fake-smile-pretending-to-be-okay is detectable in one glance. I don't think he could have been better than this.
I found Hye Jin's character relatable, she sure seems more than just being fictional leaning towards reality. She's straightforward and practical. Her development is pleasing to watch but I don't think she was any bad from the start or in need of 180-degree change. Just think of a scenario from her side: Her childhood wasn't the best, she struggled in her college days, she made herself where she's now facing all problems on her own, so her being a little stiff or insensitive towards some topics is acceptable. Having moved to the countryside as a city girl you can't adapt to the environment out of blue... growing up in a broken family you just can't accept having all people around with comfort, it takes time... that's why I enjoyed her journey of finding comfort in Gongjin. But then again it went backward where I loved seeing improvement in Hye Jin's, I was annoyed by insensitivity and lack of empathy from in some of the last episodes. I would call it rather inconsistent writing of her character.
Shin Min Ah she's stunning and very pretty. The best casting as Hye Jin seems tailor-made for her. Though I still feel her performance was a bit underwhelming in some parts.. she was great at the start, but I won't deny her being a bit over the top in almost cringe-worthy scenes. I wouldn't blame only her for it coz many times KSH ends up overshadowing everyone lol.. but apart from she did a good job. Plus they have sizzling chemistry together well what do we need more?
This one fits in the love triangle done right! it was handled with maturity. Sung Hyun is lovable and most mature... its funny to watch with being smart how oblivious he can be. I pitied him a bit but Du Shik has more priority lol so it was like for a microsecond. Other than the big coincidence of Sung Hyun ending up in Gongjin, his contribution in the story wasn't for forced or annoying... I enjoyed seeing Donk Shik getting jealous and showing his insecurities, it kinda worked as a catalyst.
The second couple is just sooo adorable, their awkward cuteness is fun to watch. The special thing about the drama is you don't only enjoy seeing leads on screen but you also enjoy seeing supporting roles... and they do have a lot of screen time but it's enjoyable. The relationship dynamics of everyone are just so amazing. There's complete family, a broken family, three best friends Halmonies, two little stars of the show... and the bonds stronger than blood relations. Together they form a family... a very happy family.
I ended up skipping Hwa Jeong's scenes with Yeong Guk they are the only ones I wasn't rooting for, I strongly believe Hwa Jeong deserves better.. a lot better, maybe just an apology from Yeong Guk would have been more than enough.... but then thinking from I-Jun's perspective I wasn't mad at the end.
I-Jun is a show stealer for me, He's such a sweetheart, more mature than half of the characters. I-Jun's character shows the details of production, why? throughout the drama, we see how considerate and amazing mom Hwa Jeong is so I-Jun's being like her this in his mom's presence is quite relatable... Hat's off to Ki Eun Yoo this kid is just 8 yrs old, but the acting he did was remarkable, I shed tears while watching him crying it broke my heart.
Hye Jin and Mi Seon's relationship is friendship goals! I also love I-Jun, Bo Ra's friendship with Oh Yoon, and Ju Ri's father-daughter dynamics. Gam Ri is my favorite character of all time. She's so lovely.. and stubbornness kinda reminds me of my grandma, maybe that's why I love her more how can I forget she have the neatest handwriting. I trio of Halmoies was one of the best things.
The poster doesn't serve justice to drama lol. It's not important but I wanted to say xD
It is simply beautiful, the aesthetics, the cinematography is amazing one of the most beautiful shows I've ever seen and yeah my storage is filled with a lot of snaps lol. I admire using the real place for shooting than sets coz it adds up more details... if you observe you'll notice scratches on wooden floors and withering of houses, it indicated people do live here.
Music is awesome.. after each episode going to Spotify and playing ost doesn't happen to me everyday lol, songs need to be addictive and no one can deny 'Romantic Sunday' is not addictive with its La-la-la-la la-la-la-la-la. These days even my 8 yr old brother has learned to sing with me sha-la-la-la-la and la-la-la-la xD
It's a feel-good drama, it's tear-jerker at the same time. More like a well-made cocktail. But don't confuse this with just a romantic comedy. Objectively 9.5 is a lot but I enjoyed it with my full heart, and my guess of the third mystery was correct so what's more important?
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Femme fatale, where?
While I was watching this series many "what if" questions came to my mind. What if the editing was good? What if Park Hee Soon was the male lead? What if the make-up artists could do make-up? But let’s see every aspect separately.Plot
The plot was obviously full of plot holes, as expected from the genre. The problem is that the series took itself way too seriously to a point that me, as a viewer, expected something better writing-wise. At some points, it was plain stupid.
Let’s take the kids for example that were basically there for décor. When the scriptwriter needed them, she added all those scenes with them, when she didn’t, it was like they didn’t even exist.
When it comes to these series, entertainment is a must. Even though the first half of the series was entertaining to watch, the second half was boring for the most part and all the excitement disappeared.
Directing, Cinematography & Editing
First of all, if someone asked me, when was this series released, I would be confused. The majority of the series looked like a 2016 or a 2015 production, but there were some scenes -not many- that looked visually pleasing, like they were part of a 2021 production. Generally though, it felt cheap.
The lighting was bad, especially in some scenes, like the tango scene in the first episode. I only liked the close-ups in the first few episodes that added to the atmosphere they were trying to create.
The editing was also pretty bad. In one scene the character looks to the right in the other scene, he looks straight ahead.
And then, we have everyone looking fake. Someone told me how it is called, but since I don’t remember it and I can’t find it, I will just use my own words. Everyone’s skin looks fake. It is flawless and not in a "the make-up is great" kind of way. In some scenes, it felt like some characters didn’t have a nose, that’s how bad it was. And to be honest, just why? I had a huge problem with that, especially regarding Seo Yea Ji. She is stunning the way she is, why would you make her look like that? That must be an achievement.
Acting
Oh, Lord. Generally speaking, the acting was mediocre, if I want to be generous, with Yoo Sun as Han So Ra being the only one that I loved watching on screen. She did a great job, portraying her character and I dare say that I would compare her performance with Kim Seo Yeon’s in the Penthouse. Good overacting is not easy to find and she did a magnificent job. Lee Sang Yeob and Park Myung Hoon, Kang Yoon Gyeom's brother, also did a very good job.
Now to the rest of the cast. Seo Yea Ji did an okay job as Lee Ra El. I would say that she needs a bit more work in the sentimental-scenes department. Besides that, at some point, I felt like she gave up. It was like she was trying so hard to make Ra El seem like a good person, to a point that she even made her voice sound thinner.
Now to the actual problems. One of those problems is Park Byung Eun. Even though I didn’t find him as bad as everyone else did, another actor would bring the eroticism and chemistry that it was needed. My biggest problem with his acting was the inconsistency. In a close-up shot he looked shocked, eyes red etc and in the full shot of the same scene he looked like he was just staring at some flowers in the park.
I also didn’t like the acting of Jeon Gook Hwan, the actor that portrayed Han Pan Ro, Han So Ra’s father. I get that he is a veteran, but for me he was ridiculous and I am saying that in the least good way possible. I felt like his acting would suit a series from five years ago. Same with his right hand Kim Jung Cheol, portrayed by Jung Hae Kyun.
Don’t even get me started on the foreign actors and how bad they were. Seo Yea Ji spoke better Spanish than the people that were supposed to be from Argentina.
OST
I like the original soundtrack of the series, with Hold Me Tight by Kim Ye Ji being my favourite. The version of Libertango by Astor Piazzolla with the bandoneon in the tango scene was also fantastic.
Femme Fatal
Undoubtedly, Seo Yea Ji is the perfect actress for these types of roles. Besides her beauty that I personally find quite unique in the Korean industry and her deep voice, she can pull of characters like Lee Ra El. However, no matter how good and gorgeous she is, her character was downgraded by everything else.
Firstly, she is supposed to be mesmerizing when dancing tango and she is just not. The way she dances feels amateurish, cringe to watch and it is definitely not as erotic as they want us to believe. Plus the choreography they created didn’t help at all. It made me laugh at times. That’s where the director should enter and actually do a good job alongside the make-up artists and stylists which gets me to my next point.
As everyone noticed, Seo Yea Ji has lost a lot of weight. Even though we can’t know if it was for the role or because of the scandal, the people responsible for her outfits should be fired. Many of the things that she wore didn’t fit her body type. Not only that, but some of the clothing choices were just bad. Same goes with the makeup.
No, the bad make-up wasn’t intentional, as I have heard many people say. Besides the fact that it felt like they were amateurs and had the same three things to work with -colors, eye-shadows etc-, the majority of their work was awful and I am being very kind. The make-up they used in most scenes looked awful on her, it didn’t fit her outfits nor it was nicely applied. The glittery make-up was just offensive to my eyes. It was bad even in her dreams! Plus, in some shots it looked different than in others and in some scenes they made her look like a ghost.
The same problem occurs with the hairstyles. They weren’t too bad, but when you have Seo Yea Ji you must make her look even more beautiful and not degrade her beauty.
Once again, think of the tango scene. I can’t believe they made her wear that awful dress with that awful make up, when they could have dressed her with a blood red colour dress to make her look like a woman you would give up everything for.
Kang Yoon Gyeom VS Seo Eun Pyung
If you were watching this series, while it was airing, then you know that everyone was arguing about who Ra El should end up with, who is better blah blah blah.
This is my unpopular opinion. First of all, for me, Ra El should end up with no one. Confucius had said "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves" and that would be the most fitting ending for this type of series.
Now, if I had to choose one, that would be Kang Yoon Gyeom. First of all, I can see why he would love her or obsess over her, take your pick. Also, people seem to forget that Lee Ra El is not a saint. She may have been through a very difficult time, but she is manipulative and uses everyone to achieve her goals, including the kids. So no, I don’t think she would make a good couple with Mr. Perfect Seo Eun Pyung. Her toxic relationship with Kang Yoon Gyeom and their similarities make them the ideal endgame, because that is what fits a series full of morally grey characters.
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Too many episodes, not enough story…
I know I’m probably in the minority with my rating but this drama was good but not amazing to me. The plot was a basic setup, very similar to some other modern dramas but managed to keep me until the end.What I liked:
The TCM profession was interesting and I would have liked to see more about it in the show. I know the focus was on romance so it only skimmed the surface of the profession. I also enjoyed the story between Shen Xifan and her ex. It definitely pulled on my heart strings when it reached the conclusion because it’s very relatable. Although there were some moments where I felt the directors trying to push the drama to be for a younger audience (i.e. them tiptoeing around Shen Xifan’s need to spend the night), overall, the drama did offer a more mature view on relationships and I appreciated that especially since most of the cast is late 20s/early 30s. I like when dramas provide a more realistic take on adult relationships in this age range.
What I didn’t like:
This show shouldn’t have been no more than about 16 episodes. There wasn’t much story to tell especially after the main couple got together. There was a ton of uneventful dialogue and basically we were just watching a couple date, sending random text messages about nothing, having conversations about who fell in love first and late night dinners. There just wasn’t a story, it was just a series of random events between two people. I wish I would have but I didn’t find that very entertaining because it dragged on for so many episodes. One thing that bothered me was the overuse of slow-mos. There were so many slow motion scenes throughout this drama when watching the main couple date or stare at each other. To me, it just dragged the already uneventful scenes even more. The supporting cast also didn’t add much value to the story. They attempted to give us a little bit of them here and there but most of the interactions with the main couple was just uneventful and they didn’t flesh those characters out at all. The final thing I will say is the character setup between Shen Xifan and He Suye was cliche. Follows the same formula as a lot of other modern dramas. Female Lead is in a long-term relationship when they meet and Male Lead is single but falls first. Would have been nice if maybe the roles were reversed or both were in relationships or single. I wish these dramas would give us something different.
Overall, if you’re just watching because you are fans of the actors, then you’ll enjoy this along with most of the ratings here. Judge it for yourself.
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Nonetheless -
GOOD - (EYE CANDY) Lets face it, if you're a fan of Kim Hyun Joong, you're going to watch this drama regardless. Eye candy-wise there will be a few more surprises, mainly Song Jae Rim, and not only him. BTW Kim Jae Wook is there for less than half of the series.
GOOD - (ACTION) If you love action, different styles of combat and disciplines, then perhaps you will like this drama. Theres a lot of fighting.
BAD - (STORY/WRITING) The story had so much potential, its a huge pity the writing wasn't at all up to par. It wasn't as bad the first 10 episodes, but then they switched writers, and subsequent episodes dragged and lacked logic, production value also became worse.
MEHHH - (ACTING) The casting wasn't bad. The acting itself was phenomenal coming from some of the actors. KHJ has improved as well... although he's still not amazing. Problem is, the acting is greatly exaggerated.. as in a lot of moments are over-acted. Its a bit awkward...
OVERALL - Watch for the eye candy and the fighting. Do not watch if you like a solid story, humor, goose bumpy romance or fast paced storytelling.
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Don't waste your time on this.
Wow, I thought I couldnt hate another drama as much as Love Alarm, but here I am writing a review for this sh*tshow I've watched. While I didnt have very high hopes from this drama coz the cast wasnt as impressive as the Bong Soon, I didn't expect the story line to be this bad. The FL - is probably the most annoying character ever. The ML, almost has no personality. FL's mom top-notch overacting. The only character who has a wholesome story is the villain.I want my time back. This was an absolute disaster and 70% of the people are still bearing with this appalling performance is because of Byeon Woo Seok (bless his heart)
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